If you can get the edges of your hand tools as sharp as a razor, your woodworking endeavors will be much easier. In this class, you'll discover ways to get your edges keen in a consistent and predictable manner. You'll learn several methods, including electric grinders, water stones, diamond stones, as well as using ready made honing guides.

This month we are featuring the woodworking projects of Butch Montgomery, who has been woodworking since shop class in High School, where he built an entire roll top desk for his mother, despite the fact that it was a more "advanced" project.

We invite you to
SEND US PHOTOS
of your carving along with captions and a brief history and description of your carvings. (Email photos at 800x600 resolution.) Receive a $50 store credit if we show your carving in a future issue.

This month we are featuring the beautifully carved spoons and boxes of Rodney Miller, who we have also featured in our
Show Us Your Woodturning column
in The Highland Woodturner.

This month Jim has a tip on what you need to do in order to enlarge an already drilled hole, as well as a money saving tip on finding the best wood storage solutions within the shop space you are provided.

Question:
I am making a dresser out of maple and need to stain or dye it to match a bed out of alder and stained a reddish brown color. What is the best method to match the color? Stain seems to just muddy the maple.

This month, Jeff takes a different route in his tool review and discusses the Hock Kitchen Knife Kit. These kits include top quality, steel blades that you can add your own custom handle to in order to create a great addition to your kitchen.

Check out the great product tour videos and demonstrations on our
YouTube Channel
. Our good friends Morton, David, Matt & Steve demonstrate some of our most popular products for your benefit in these tours.

Are there any products you'd like to see in a product tour? If so, we invite you to
EMAIL US
and let us know what YOU would like to see!

This month, Ed Scent (Highland Woodworker cardholder since 1995) shares several suggestions on ways to prevent injuring yourself on a spinning blade, and how to figure out when it is okay to touch the blade.

For more than a decade we've searched for a worthy successor to the Dustfoe, the most popular dust
mask for woodworkers that we've ever sold, but unfortunately was discontinued by its manufacturer.
We've finally found it in the Elipse P100 dust mask.

For this popular monthly column, we invite you to
SEND US PHOTOS
of your woodworking shop along with captions and a brief history and description of your woodworking. (Email photos at 800x600 resolution.) Receive a $50 store credit if we show your shop in a future issue.

This month we are featuring Herb Schlobohm's shop, which he refers to as the "antithesis" of the normal woodworking shop.

This month, Steve discusses the science and structure behind the tapes we most often use in our woodworking shops. He also questions the integrity of furniture bought from a furniture store and the mistakes that can often be found. And lastly, he lays out the 5S Design Criteria for his new wall storage cabinets.

Our blogger, Terry Chapman, recently purchased the hardware for a new
Benchcrafted Glide Leg Vise
and has finished installing it on his workbench. Read about his installation process and the benefits of his new Benchcrafted Leg Vise on the Highland Blog.

Many of my customers have come to me, wanting advice on which of our many block planes they should buy. Often this is prefaced by the fact that they would like the plane they buy to provide a great deal of functionality, as this may be the only plane they purchase. With this in mind, I frequently find myself suggesting our Low Angle Rabbet Block Plane ( 60-1/2RN with nicker).

The Soul of a Tree
, George Nakashima's autobiography and philosophy, is a special book about an extraordinary woodworker. It is, of course, an account of the story of his life and the influences that led him to become the exceptional woodworker that he was. But it is much more than that, for those influences—from his earliest years—developed his deep reverence for nature and, in particular, for the many and varied species of trees that inhabit our shared planet. And it is the expression of his philosophic views about trees that forms the core and important message of this book.

Perhaps the finest woodworking show you'll ever attend will take place in the small
village of Amana, Iowa on May 15-16, 2015. Featuring many artisan toolmakers who specialize in the
modern use of hand tools, this show will inspire and amaze anyone who loves the sound of a
shaving clearing the throat of a well-made hand plane. Roy Underhill and many others will
be on hand to educate and entertain. Nearby will be a rare display of the exquisite Studley
Tool Chest. Save the date, and plan your route to Amana. You will not want to miss this show.

Purchase any model SawStop PCS Cabinet Saw during March or April, 2015 and
receive a $199 accessory FOR FREE as a factory rebate!
Choose either the
SawStop PCS integrated mobile base or the overarm mount for the dust collector
(Both accessories are shown already mounted on the saw pictured above). The
SawStop has already saved the fingers of thousands of woodworkers from
serious injury. Don't put it off any longer! Now is the best time ever to add a SawStop to your workshop.

The new Mirka DEROS is the first random orbit sander to use a brushless DC motor without the
need for an external transformer. It's small and light enough to use with
one hand, combining the power and light weight of a pneumatic
tool with the convenience of an electric tool. If you do a lot
of sanding on vertical surfaces, you will especially love this sander.

Rikon has hit a home run with their new model 70-220VSR 1 HP variable speed reversing midi-lathe.
Featuring 12-1/2" swing over the ways and 20" between centers, as well as a
24-position index head, this lathe is designed to handle a wide variety of
projects.

Bowclamps allow you to clamp up to 4-foot widths with only a single clamp at each
end. The Bowclamp is manufactured using CNC technology to machine a curve that
perfectly distributes equal pressure everywhere it contacts your project.
Extremely versatile, Bowclamps will work with virtually any clamp on the
market.

The compact Earlex SprayPort 6000 turbine is driven by a 1200 watt motor, providing plenty of power that makes it ideal
for the small professional shop or serious amateur woodworker. Equipped with the exceptional Pro-8 non-bleeder spray gun and
super lightweight flexible HyperFlex™ HVLP hose, this system makes spray application a pleasure.

NEW SawStop Jobsite Saw
The new SawStop Jobsite Saw lets you bring incredible portability, innovative timesaving features and signature SawStop safety
anywhere you need it. We expect to have a limited number of saws available to ship beginning in March 2015. Please get your order in now for earliest delivery.

SawStop Industrial Saw Now Available Online
Highland has just become one of a small number of stocking dealers authorized to sell SawStop's Industrial Cabinet Saw online nationwide within the 48 states.
This is the original SawStop model designed for continuous heavy duty operation in an industrial environment.

NEW Leigh Router Table Jig
Leigh's latest new joinery jig is designed specifically for use on router tables. Able to produce
through dovetails, half-blind dovetails and box joints quickly and easily, the RTJ400 offers instant adjustment
of joint tightness down to a thousandth of an inch.

Festool has evolved the oscillating tool concept to a whole new standard. The Festool Vecturo will become the installer and renovator's best friend,
and can provide any woodworker with capabilities, accuracy and efficiency never before experienced with an oscillating tool.

Instantly access any article ever published in Fine
Woodworking,
now for only
$69.99

This new DVD archive contains every article in the
244 issues of Fine Woodworking magazine published in the past 39 years. Easily
search and view an entire generation's worth of woodworking wisdom. While
supplies last, save $30 off the $99.95 list price.

I'm writing this letter to explain the absolute sickness I felt after the first cut with my woodslicer.

I can't believe the number of hours wasted and the amount of frustration I had dealt with working around my bandsaws shortcomings.

I will explain. Primarily I'm a turner and bought a bandsaw to cut the corners off blocks but also planned to use the tool for other tasks. Struggling with the factory blade and other blades purchased I found that "drift" was more like "undertow" and that resawing for segmented turnings was more like a wasteful way to check the grain direction.
I decided to take one last chance before selling the expensive paperweight, and I purchased the Wood Slicer blade.

I couldn't believe the feed rate and accuracy. I literally felt sick. Why did I wait so long to buy one? Why did I put up with a tool that made it harder to work rather than easier? I had wasted more wood than the blade cost.

I would say to anyone that is struggling with their bandsaw .... stop and call.